Pope Alexander I of Alexandria

Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 328) was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria from 313 to 328 AD, succeeding Pope Achillas of Alexandria and preceding Athanasius of Alexanadria. A leading anti-Arian at the First Council of Nicaea, he claimed to have authority over all of Egypt and Africa.

Biography
Alexander became a Christian priest during the bloody persecutions of Galerius and Maximinus II, and he became Patriarch of Alexandria on the passing of Pope Achillas of Alexandria in 313 AD. Alexander became a notable opponent of the schismatic Meletius of Lycopolis and his ally Arius, and Alexander and Arius had notable debates over the nature of Jesus' relation to God, with Arius arguing that Jesus could not be co-eternal with God the Father. The Arians engaged in violence against Alexander's Miaphysite followers, leading to Constantine the Great requesting that Alexander and Arius end their dispute; the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD condemned Arianism as heresy. Alexander died three years later.